how fast with wheel weight bullets>?
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res45
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Leading is not just velocity related it can be one or a combination of several things,velocity,pressure,alloy BHN and obturation,bullet to bore fit and last but not least the flow properties of your lube
I'm going to assume were talking about 158 gr. bullets. If you water quench straight out of the mold and you have a good bullet to bore fit you can shoot them at full magnum velocity. I only use a gas check when I cast softer alloy HP bullets for my handguns I want to shoot at high velocity for good expansion.
Here isa free online book you can download and read at your convenience,lots of useful info for bullet casters as well as people that just want to shoot cast bullet.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
I'm going to assume were talking about 158 gr. bullets. If you water quench straight out of the mold and you have a good bullet to bore fit you can shoot them at full magnum velocity. I only use a gas check when I cast softer alloy HP bullets for my handguns I want to shoot at high velocity for good expansion.
Here isa free online book you can download and read at your convenience,lots of useful info for bullet casters as well as people that just want to shoot cast bullet.
http://www.lasc.us/Fryxell_Book_Contents.htm
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fecmech
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I run plain base cast bullets in the .357 and .44 mag to 1200-1300 fps with no problems and excellent accuracy. Plain old air cooled wheel wts if sized correctly and wearing a good lube will shoot with no leading and good accuracy at mag velocities.
GP100man
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I shoot PB boolits in al my revolvers & find alloys compareable to WWs to give up the ability to grab the riflng at around 12-1300 fps in MY revolvers .
I have all the cyls throats at 358 , most boolits spring back or grow after casting/sizing & measure .3585 or better.
If the boolit fits well you can usually drive it faster !
My alloys run in the 12-14 bhn according to my lee tester.
Iusually shoot for 4% tin to tuffen the boolit without hardening it to the point of being brittle.
I have all the cyls throats at 358 , most boolits spring back or grow after casting/sizing & measure .3585 or better.
If the boolit fits well you can usually drive it faster !
My alloys run in the 12-14 bhn according to my lee tester.
Iusually shoot for 4% tin to tuffen the boolit without hardening it to the point of being brittle.
sugarmaker
Member
Gas check or no gas check? I've shot a bunch of .357 cast on 358429 lyman blocks BUT...it was long ago, so details have faded. Wheel weights aren't particularly hard. I used to mix 1lb of linotype with 3 lb of wheelweights and shoot 1200-1300 estimated fps-ish loads using unique and bullseye. Lyman lube (circa mid to late-70's formulation). Ruger blackhawk. I didn't notice excessive leading with this formula. I did find that plain wheel weights weren't the most accurate with that power level, never did figure out why, i just assumed it was soft and mixed in some lino. Again, faint details...
.44 mag I found the gas check helped the leading situation, but also harder alloy did the same w/o having to seat the checks.
.44 mag I found the gas check helped the leading situation, but also harder alloy did the same w/o having to seat the checks.
There is a really interesting chapter in the lee reloading manual that gives a formula that you can use to decide how fast you can push a lead bullet. He seemed to have found that the lead hardness and the psi of your load, among other factors mentioned above, could help determine whether or not a particular load would leave lead in your barrel. The even more interesting thing to me was that he found that certain powders would show a uniform decrease in pressure and velocity for every one grain reduction in the powder charge. This would allow you to download to a pretty consistant psi without having any expensive measurement tools, and would allow you to tailor your loads to the hardness of the bullet you are working with.
GP100man
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Most people measure success with lead by how much lead the boolits don`t leave behind ,but just the oppisite should be observed, how accurate the load is is the goal !!
Success with lead varies because of manufacturing tolerances, in my exp with revolvers they needed some kind of massaging to shoot lead succesfully
Success with lead varies because of manufacturing tolerances, in my exp with revolvers they needed some kind of massaging to shoot lead succesfully
I load both .357 and .44 mag with wheelweights.If I keep the .44 around 1200 FPS,and the .357 around 1000 FPS,no problem at all.Full power loads in either gives me severe leading.I've tried lymans #2 alloy =9 lbs of wheelweights and one pound of 50/50 bar solder,gives me another 100 FPS or so.biker
USSR
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+1, as well as keep the amount of antimony down to 1.5% or less. And, having a proper size bullet with a good lube goes a long ways.
Don
amlevin
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First the Linotype machines and now Wheel Weights. Soon to be part of history. Plumbers don't use lead for sewer pipe joints anymore. Whatever is a shooter to do?
What will be the next bullet material for those who cast their own?
What will be the next bullet material for those who cast their own?
USSR
Member
Radiological Isotope lead.
Don
GP100man
Member
I`ve been useing isotope containers for 4yrs now (not useing my hoarded WW)
Here`s some info on isotope containers ,& my supplier has informed me that soon they`ll have to return most of there containers !
Enjoy : http://www.fellingfamily.net/isolead/index.html
Here`s some info on isotope containers ,& my supplier has informed me that soon they`ll have to return most of there containers !
Enjoy : http://www.fellingfamily.net/isolead/index.html
fecmech
Member
When shooting loads in the .357 and .44 mag in the 1200-1300 fps range with cast bullets you need to keep a couple things in mind. For max loads stay away from the faster powders like Unique, Herco, AA5 etc. Instead use 296,H110, 2400, AA9 or Blue Dot and you will have much better results. My best accuracy in a number of mag handguns has always been with 296/H110 followed closely by 2400 and Blue Dot. The slower powders seem to give a softer launch.
Size to your cylinder throats and use a good lube such as the standard NRA 50/50,or any of the White label lubes. Do these things and lead bullet magnum bliss will be yours!
Size to your cylinder throats and use a good lube such as the standard NRA 50/50,or any of the White label lubes. Do these things and lead bullet magnum bliss will be yours!
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